Veteran's story inspires outpouring of support

For one struggling Iraq War veteran, the generosity of South Florida has restored the young man's faith in the people he fought for, after what had been a brutal homecoming.

Since the story of 30-year-old Adam Peters was published, people have been calling, emailing and sending letters, offering everything from cash to a motorcycle that would replace the one thieves stole from him.

Peters returned to Boca Raton last month with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, inflamed by tragedies in the news and the stolen bike. He says the outpouring has been cathartic.

"I didn't know it was going to be like this," he said.

The article detailed Peters' difficulty re-adjusting to civilian life. He served in Baghdad from 2006 to 2007, and his new perspective, molded by combat horrors, clashed with the suburban landscape. Like perhaps a third of the 231,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in Florida, Peters deals with insomnia, irritability, anxiety and other afflictions — the hallmarks of PTSD or traumatic brain injury.

The theft of his shiny white Honda CBR was almost the final blow. It was just gone in the morning. Peters couldn't believe it. "We're supposed to be on the same side," he said. He considered leaving the country.

That's when his mother, Susan, contacted the Sun Sentinel. Maybe if people read about her son, they would let him know they cared. Peters was a good sport. He gave an interview and aired his problems.

After the story appeared, several people responded immediately, some offering consolation worth hundreds of dollars, and others simply letting him know the world is only part evil.

"I keep him in my prayers now," said one reader, Karin O'Brien, by phone from Pompano Beach.

All of this caught Peters off guard.

His mom "was right on the money."

Friends and family also reached out. They didn't know he was having trouble, they said, and they were there if he ever needed to talk.

Someone even tried to give him a motorcycle.

"I would like to offer it to you," the person wrote, "at the low, low price of FREE!"

A contractor in Fort Lauderdale called to see if Peters was interested in possibly heading up a new electrical engineering division of the company.

A local diver named James Smith was intrigued by Peters' recent foray into diving to relieve stress. Smith emailed the reporter to say he had connections with celebrity wreck diver John Chatterton.

"I would like to provide Adam with what he needs to complete his SCUBA certification," he went on, and threw in an invitation to a private dinner with Chatterton, for good measure.

A reader named Richard Froshee reached out, too.

"As a fellow rider, I know how it feels when something happens to your wheels," he wrote, offering to give Peters his cruiser for "FREE!"

This show of support from perfect strangers was "powerful," Peters said. He responded to them with gratitude, but declined the motorcycle (though he has taken Smith up on his offers). Insurance, he said, would cover most of the stolen bike.

And the show of support was just as important as the support itself.

On Tuesday, a letter for Peters came in the mail from O'Brien, the woman in Pompano Beach.

In an interview later, she said the idea of a distressed veteran troubled her. It is incumbent upon the public to "be there" for people who bear the wounds of service. She wanted him to know someone was.

"You don't know me," she wrote, "but I've been thinking about you all day.

"You are a good man, a man to be admired. … I'm sorry your homecoming hasn't been the joy it should have been. You deserve better. We all know life isn't fair or perfect, but we all want it to be. We know there are bad guys all over the place. They upset us.

"Sometimes, we forget there are good guys all over this earth, even in Boca Raton. Perhaps we should all start counting them as we come into daily contact — one good guy at a time."